All Replies on Finishing Assistance

23 replies so far

Hoyt,I’m sure you don’t want to start all over and strip this project. So don’t use polyshades, yet, the urethane will seal the wood and you will have a harder time getting it darker. It appears that right now you only have stain on the wood. That’s good. The brown/black color you refer to in furniture stores is actually and solid color stain and what you used was a penetrating stain. You need something that will stay on the surface. You will still be able to see some of the grain but you have to go for black. At this point the brown background may help in creating the look you want.Also, try to get away from the big box for your finishing supplies. It’s better to get this from a dedicated store where you can get some assistance. A woodworkers tool store, a paint store and cabinet materials suppliers are better places to get help when you need it.

Thank you for the suggestions. I think I’m going to go look for a gel stain. I was reading about the General Finishes gel stain. It seems they can be applied over a oil based stain, and they are going to stay on the surface instead of penetrate. I will stop by the Rockler/Toolstore near me tonight to see what they carry.

dbray45, Do you mean mix the ebony stain with polyurethane? Sounds like a homemade polyshade, haha. I will try it on a scrap.

I think the gel stain may be worth a try, hopefully on a scrap piece first. You could basically use it like a glaze. You may want to also try sealing the current stain with some dewaxed shellac then put the gel stain. Also, try this on a test board first. Good luck!

Vicki: Once you apply poly, you have pretty much sealed the pores from accepting stain. You could use Minwax Polyshades, which is basically tinted poly, on top of your existing finish. I’m not a big fan of it normally, but it might be the next best alternative to sanding your cabinet down to bare wood.

So, I decided to go ahead and use a gel stain (General Finishes Gel Stain – Java). It help slighlty with the unevenness, but it definitely made it darker. I’d say I’m pleased after the first coat. Although it’s not dark nor even enough, I hope that subsequent coats will help with both. Here’s some pictures in case anyone else ever has this problem…

You might want to try a dye rather than a stain. I’ve oly used dye once but it worked quite well at evening up colors and worked well on top of an oil based rub on poly finish.I know it’s too late for this but a coat of dewaxed shellac as a sealer before staining would have prevented the blotchiness.

Hoyt, I think that dyes are easier to work with than stain. Also, Pine is probobly the worst wood when it comes to blotchyness but Cherry and Alder and I’m sure others that I’m not familiar with can be nearly as bad.

Vivki, I haven’t seen wood dyes at the box stores. I get it from Woodcraft.

It is always “on purpose” – even for the painted projects. Who would think that you need 4 different kinds of primers and fillers that look like stain, dyes, laquers, and shellac? But, sometimes you just gotta have em. Before paint, they had veneer!

I don’t have anything to add that hasn’t been said above. I had a similar project that was “almost” to the desired shade. I used a couple of layers of Briwax black & it evened it out a shade. May not work in this application but it’s my stream of consciousness offering.

-- My dad and I built a 65 chev pick up.I killed trannys in that thing for some reason-Hog

I would have put a coat of “Seal Coat” shellac on the pine before a gel stain. I used Polyshades 1 time. Never again. I don’t use poly either, nor am I a fan of MinWax. Much prefer wiping varnish. Go find a real dealer of finishes (not a borg) for good advice and products.Bill

It’s getting much better. I’ve put on 2 coats of the gel stain, and I think I’ll put on 2 more coats. I’m not sure if its going to be dark enough or not. Hopefully it will.

I was looking into your suggestion of dyes, and was wondering if any of you have had any expeirence with adding them to a polyurethane? I talked to a guy at a woodworking store and he mentioned dyes, but it mostly seemed like they were for use in water based products.

Just a thought… I once wanted to do something similar with white oak. I used a Fiddees NGR water-based dye. The color is Dark Oak. It produced a color close to what you might find on an Ethan Allen piece – very dark brown/black. I just wiped on 2 or three applications and achieved the desired color. I finished with shellac. Looks terrific. Very best of luck.- Kris

I prefer dyes to stains as well. Of course, the effect of a dye is differentfrom a stain, so it really depends on the look you are after.

Dyes come in water soluble and alcohol-soluble versions. The water dyesraise the grain. As long as the solvent you use to dissolve an alcohol dyethins your finish too, the dye can color your finish. You could definitely mixshellac with an alcohol dye and you’d be in business. Lay the shellac on until you’ve got the effect you want, dry brush with acryrlic paint over problemareas, and top-coat with poly.